The book is about a young Indian Boy that grows up in a small town in South Dakota. There is a section of the town that was for all the Natives to live that was called "Indian Town". The boy grows up in poverty and endures all the hardship that goes with being poor. He eventually drops out of high school in the tenth grade to go into the service. This was his only option to get out of poverty and learn a trade. He finishes his military training and is sent to Vietnam where he ends up doing two one-year tours. He completes his enlistment with the service and moves to North Dakota and works until his retirement in 2009.